10 February 2006

as you can tell from our previous post up there we were listening to moon griffon this morning (actually yesterday by now) and this caller "robert from alexandria" called in to talk about his friends experience with "the brotherhood" upon opening a small business, a night club, here at alexandria.

The Alexandria nightclub that was the scene of numerous drug and firearm arrests in a February raid has a new name.

However, the club that used to be Club Retro and now is Swamp Dawgz has the same owners, Dar and Lyle Doublet, who were also arrested in February's raid.

Donna Andries of the Rapides Parish Sales and Use Tax Department said her department's records indicate Swamp Dawgz is owned by the Doublets and that their liquor license was not been revoked in the wake of the raid.Andries said only felony arrests can lead to the revocation of a liquor license.

Hearing conductedThe state Office of Alcohol & Tobacco Control conducted a hearing with the Doublets in the wake of the raid, agency legal counsel Brian DeJean confirmed.

DeJean declined comment on the hearing results and referred further questioning to Commissioner Murphy Painter.

Telephone calls placed to Painter's office were not returned Thursday.

According to police records, the February raid resulted in more than 100 citations and 22 arrests during the weekend raid at the Vandenburg Drive building serving as the site of Club Retro.

Authorities said they found drugs and weapons on the premises.

No commentThe Doublets could not be reached for comment Thursday. Several messages left at the club for the Doublets during the past three weeks were not returned.

The Doublets' attorney, George Higgins, initially agreed on Thursday to speak with The Town Talk but could not be reached later.

The Doublets were arrested on various charges, including possession of a firearm on the premises of an alcohol beverage outlet, having an alcohol beverage outlet open after 2 a.m. and being over capacity by 142, according to police records.

The Doublets each were issued more than 100 citations of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, according to police records.

Police said the citations were issued for people under the age of 21 being in the bar.

Rapides Parish Sheriff's officials reported the raid was the result of complaints and a drug investigation.

Children in barWhen officers arrived at the Alexandria night spot, according to police records, they found a 4-year-old sitting at the bar and children as young as 13 years old inside.

The majority of the Doublets' charges were for code violations, police reports showed.

Deputies said there were about 1,000 people in the building when they arrived. Narcotics agents said they discovered items such as marijuana, powder cocaine, Ecstasy pills, Watson and Xanax bars during the search, and that the drugs were being sold openly inside and outside the club.

More than 100 people were cited, 22 arrested and one trampled during a weekend raid at a Vandenburg Drive night club, where authorities allegedly found drugs and weapons.

The Sunday morning raid at Club Retro, said Rapides Parish Sheriff's Capt. James Raul, was the result of complaints and a drug investigation. When officers arrived at the Alexandria nightspot, they found a 4-year-old sitting at the bar and children as young as 13 inside, said Rauls, supervisor of Metro Narcotics.

Many were arrested for warrants, but some were booked on drug charges. The citations were issued for people under the age of 21 being in a bar.

The club's owners, brothers Dar Doublet and Lyle Doublet, were among those arrested. One of their wives -- Erica Doublet -- also was arrested, Rauls said. The 4-year-old belonged to one of the owners, Metro Narcotics agents said. The majority of their charges were for code violations.

The Doublets referred questions to their attorney, George Higgins.

Higgins said his clients went to the Sheriff's Office last week, because they wanted to be in compliance. He said his clients are "good folks trying to run a legitimate business."

The one person injured was trampled when patrons began to stampede as officers arrived, Slocum said. The unidentified woman was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment after being checked out by a doctor, who is part of the team that responds to a raid. Slocum said the woman's injuries were not serious.

There were about 1,000 people in the building when officers arrived, Slocum said. Between 100 and 200 people got away, Rauls estimated, before officers could secure the building.

Besides the arrests and citations, officers seized drugs and four weapons inside Club Retro, Rauls said.

When the lights in the club came on, the floor was covered with drugs and alcohol bottles, Rauls said.

Officers reported no major incidents, but at least one person was upset over the raid.

Sandra Washington, a promoter with Big Business Entertainment, the Texas-based production company that organized the rap show at Club Retro on Saturday night and Sunday morning, said law-enforcement officers acted in an unprofessional manner during the raid.

Although no charges or reports of police brutality have been filed, Washington said that she witnessed officers shoving and cursing bar patrons.

She also was upset that her body guard, Bryce Mouton, had been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Mouton allegedly told officers that he was carrying a handgun and had a permit for it, Washington said.

"How could he be concealing a weapon if he told the cops that he had one. ... That doesn't make any sense," Washington said.

Washington also claims that officers seized about $12,000 that belonged to her company.

Washington said she is still in shock, but has been consulting lawyers concerning the way officers treated her and other representatives of her company.

"We have been all over the U.S. and have never seen anything like it. It was almost like we were in a terrorist country," she said.

Rauls and Slocum said the raid came after members of the community complained that the club was staying open after the 2 a.m. closing time, had cars blocking Vandenburg Drive, was allowing juveniles inside, and was allowing the sale of illegal drugs.

Metro Narcotics agents' investigation "found that narcotics such as marijuana, powder cocaine, Ecstasy pills, Watson and Xanax bars, etc., were being sold in the club openly and outside the club as well," Rauls states in a media release.

Officers also witnessed the club staying open past its 2 a.m. closing time even though the Sheriff's Office had warned the owners, officials said.

Officers with Metro Narcotics, Rapides Parish sheriff's SWAT team, line division and corrections, Alexandria Police Department's Special Response Team, state Probation and Parole, Alcohol Tobacco Control and Rapides Parish fire marshals returned to Club Retro on Sunday morning.

The Doublets were arrested on various charges, including possession of a firearm on premises of an alcohol beverage outlet, having an alcohol beverage outlet open after 2 a.m. and over capacity by 142. Erica Doublet was charged with possession of a firearm and improper supervision of a minor.

Rauls said warrants would be issued for more than 100 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Rapides Parish Sheriff's officials displayed Wednesday evidence seized from an early Sunday morning raid on Club Retro, located on Vandenburg Drive.

A variety of Ecstasy and Xanax pills, marijuana blunts, a Glock 40 and FN 75 gun were among the items taken in the raid. RPSO Maj. Mike Slocum said the FN 75 gun was an "unusual" find, because it fires .223-round ammunition that can pierce police vests.

The guns were found in the club's business office and state law prohibits firearms in clubs, Slocum said.

George Higgins, attorney for brothers Dar and Lyle Doublet, who were leasing Club Retro, said he won't argue charges that the club was in violation of firearms and fire code violations. He said his clients had not had a previous record of law violations and they had always maintained security and ID checks at the club.

"The fact that a club that holds over 500 people, and has a large under-25 crowd and the fact that a small percentage had (drug) contraband on them will not surprise a lot of those reading this paper," Higgins said.